This atmospheric novel set in Appalachia during World War I, is both beautiful and dark, full of love, betrayal and fear. Siblings Laurel and Hank Shelton live in the cove, fruitless farmland nestled in perpetual shadow, land locals say is cursed. Hank has returned an amputee from World War I. He soon falls in love but his new bride refuses to live in the cove. Hank must choose between his bride and abandoning his socially outcast sister in the loneliest place imaginable. Laurel's fate is altered forever when she discovers an injured man on their land. The stranger slowly heals and insinuates himself in to life in the cove—bringing Laurel happiness, even love. But when Laurel stumbles on the stranger's true identity, she realises they are in real danger, beyond any kind of mythical curse. And the ramifications are breathtaking. 'The Cove is a marvelous novel, bristling with power, humanity and the exceptional quality of characterization and story-telling we have come to expect from Ron Rash.' Irvine Welsh